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CSAA Advanced Operator Online Training Course (CSAA-AOOT) (formerly Level II)
State of the Art – Relevant – Cost Effective – Time Efficient
Table of Contents
What is it?
The Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) is pleased to announce the release of the CSAA Advanced Operator Online Training Course (CSAA-AOOT).
Requests for a more advanced online course started arriving soon after the release of the ever popular CSAA Central Station Operator Level I Online Training Course (CSO 101), which has had over 2,500 graduates. Level I has become the most successful online training course in our industry. Today the CSAA Operator Level I Course has been taken by operators and others from all over the world including Canada, the Caribbean and Asia.
Who Should Take the Training?
The course is appropriate for anyone who has completed and passed Level I. It is also of great benefit to any related monitoring personnel that have experience in that discipline.
Q: We have had all our operators take and pass the CSAA Central Station Operator Level I Online course. Why would we want to also have all our experienced operators, supervisors and managers in our monitoring station take the CSAA Advanced Operator Online Course?
A: Technologies and standards change in the electronic security and detection industry and the CSAA Central Station Operator courses are updated and reviewed for content on a regular basis. The CSAA Advanced Operator Online Training Course is a completely new program, which builds on Level I. The CSAA Advanced Operator Online Training Course subject matter includes: enhanced operator skills, dealing with difficult customer situations, communications paths and managing false dispatches just to name a few.
This ongoing education will assist to improve levels of understanding and professionalism within your facility. Your staff will be more trained, allowing them to do a more professional job.
Q: Some of our operators are seasoned but have not taken the CSAA Central Station Operator Level I Online course and as such would like to jump to the CSAA Advanced Operator Online Training Course. Can we do that?
A: Yes, however it is not recommended. Even seasoned operators can make basic mistakes and in many instances through complacency and predictability can surpass the error count or misjudgment of a junior dispatcher in training. It has been reported by students who have taken the CSAA Central Station Operator Level I Online course, it has truly help to reintroduced standardization back to knowledgeable operators. Although not mandatory, except for the coveted five diamond certification it is highly recommended.
We highly recommend a minimum of three years of direct work in the monitoring center if a student has not taken the CSAA Central Station Operator Level I Online course initially.
What are the benefits of having your operators take the CSAA Central Station Operator Online Training (Level I) and the Advanced Course series?
The CSAA Central Station Operator Online Training (Level I) and the Advanced Course have become the “Gold Standard”. It is the most cost effective, structured and relevant education available. It addresses many of the issues to assist monitoring personnel in becoming more professional and cognizant of related technical and personnel issues. Unlike internal training where content can vary as well as student/trainer availability every student is provided the opportunity to receive the same consistent level of training. Because students can access their CSAA Central Station Operator Online courses from anywhere there is a broadband access, they can take their courses at work, home or anywhere they happen to be.
Q: Why should I have all our staff take the CSAA Central Station Operator Online Training (Level I) and the Advanced Course today? What advantage is it to take the CSAA Advanced Operator Online Training Course?
A: Standards, terminology and technology are changing at a rapid rate in the monitoring industry. The CSAA Online Courses are regularly reviewed and updated.
For example, just a few short years ago IP monitoring, VoIP, DSL, Mesh Networks were not in the central station environment. Standards are moving even quicker, as well as regulations, which may affect protocols. The CSAA online programs are updated on a regular basis. This is the most cost effective investment you can make to help improve understanding and standardizations in the monitoring industry.
How does it differ from Level I?
The training information included in Level II is totally new and significantly more advanced than that in Level I.
Modules include subject matter such as communications paths, alarm receiver formats, dealing with difficult customer situations, enhanced customer service skills and managing false alarms, just to name a few of the modules. The six modules are:
- Module 1. Dealing with Difficult Customer Situations--This module includes specific tactics for dealing with customers who are irate, scared, confused, or experiencing any type of extreme emotion. Additional skills taught include controlling a conversation without appearing abrupt.
- Module 2. Enhanced Customer Service Skills--This module reviews how the customers experience with the central station leaves an impression that impacts the entire company. Operators can impact the company’s attrition and growth so they need to understand the implications of customer interactions. Listening is critical in all customer service situations so this module will focus on how to improve listening skills to enhance the customer’s experience.
- Module 3. Specialty Alarms--This module reviews the various signal/event types that are responded to in the central station, other than burglary, fire and medical. Descriptions of various specialty activations is provided, as well as backgrounds on equipment used in these applications.
- Module 4. Receiver Formats--Understanding how to interpret a received printout is not only necessary in the event of a system failure, but can be equally of value in troubleshooting a field services problem. This module discusses the various formats and how they report.
- Module 5. Communications Paths--Whether using T1, radio or POTS, all communications must have a path to follow in order to reach their final destination. Module 5 discusses the various traditional communications paths, as well as some basics on IP technology and new communications challenges/opportunities for the alarm industry.
- Module 6. Managing False Dispatches--The central station is the front line in the war against false dispatches. This module helps operators understand the false alarm problem and what they can do to assist the company in identifying problems and solutions.
This course also counts towards all requirements for the CSAA Five Diamond Central Station program.
How much does it cost?
The CSAA Advanced Operator Online Training Course is available through the CSAA web site, www.csaaul.org, with the same pricing ($162.50), membership discount (25%), and bulk purchase discount structure (5% or 10%) as the CSO Level I (for more information, visit the FAQ page.).
Q: Can I take the course without being a member of the CSAA?
A: Yes, however CSAA membership comes with substantial membership benefits and discounts. CSAA is an internationally recognized professional Association for the monitoring industry which has several missions including raising the levels of services and professionalism for its members and the industry. The CSAA Central Station Operator Online course is an important element in education for the profession.
For information about membership, please click here for an overview of the substantial benefits and application instructions.
Cost/Bulk Discount
Q: How much does it cost?
A: $162.50 per operator; CSAA members get a considerable discount (25%). For them, the cost is $121.88/operator.
Q: Will the rates of the online training go up?
A: The CSAA has no intentions of raising pricing at this time.
Q: Is there an additional discount if I buy a block of classes?
A: Yes.
If you purchase 5 - 9 classes in bulk (see below for form to submit), your discount will be 5% per operator over and beyond any other additional discount (e.g. CSAA membership, special promotion, etc.).
For 10 students and over, the discount is 10% (also above and beyond any other discounts) (see below for form to submit).
Q: Can I purchase specific modules and not the entire course?
A: No, The program is made to be certificated and as such covers a wide area of competency.
Q: How long will I be able to access to the course once purchased?
A: One year; this way, the course serves as a resource for students to go back and review after initially completing the course. Licenses can NOT be extended beyond that time.
Bulk Purchases/Purchase Orders
Q: My company will rather use a purchase order (PO) than pay for the course on-line. Or it wants to buy in bulk. How will this work?
A: The PO process involves the customer providing:
a) the names of the students via a spreadsheet template and
b) the funds necessary to establish the purchase order. These funds can be provided either by check or credit card (Visa, MasterCard or Amex).
For customers who would like to purchase the Central Station Operators Course Level One with a Purchase Order, you will need to perform the following steps:
Click here to download the Purchase Order Instructions and Guidelines document. If prompted for a username and password, please click on CANCEL. Document will still open.
Read the document and fill out the appropriate information. Fax the complete form to our online education partner, The CMOOR Group, at 502-254-1586. This document also lists the terms, conditions and restrictions on purchase orders.
Click here to download the Upload Spreadsheet. If prompted for a username and password, please click on CANCEL. Document will still open.
On the spreadsheet, please complete all of the RED fields in the spreadsheet as they are required.
Remember, when completing the spreadsheet, for email addresses for the students that each user must have a unique email address. If they do not have an existing email account one can be set up free of charge via Yahoo.
When you have completed the spreadsheet, you can email it directly to The CMOOR Group at support@cmoor.com
Q: My company wants to buy in bulk but we don't have the name of all the operators. How will this work?
A: The licenses can be purchased in bulk without knowing the student names. The licenses will then sit in queue indefinitely until such a time as they are assigned to an individual. At that time, they begin a six month access period.
You need to fill in the PO request form and process the payment. Once you have the users, you will complete the spreadsheet and then forward it to the C-MOOR Group (see instructions above). If you purchase 10 licenses but only have five users ready, you fill in the five users and forward them through. When you have the next five users ready ( or whatever increment is available ) you would send just those five in a new spreadsheet. We will then load and post the users as they become available.
Refunds
Q: My operator quit before they completed the course. Can I get a refund?
A: No. However, as long as the employee has not completed all the modules and taken the certification exam within 30 days of student registration, the course is fully transferable to a new student. You must contact the CMOOR Group via e-mail at support@cmoor.com within 30 days of the need to change. User license transfers may be made one time only.
How do I start my staff’s training now?
A: The CSAA Central Station Operator Level I and the Advance Online Course have been developed to be easy, portable and relevant. Payment can be through a credit card such as Master Card, Visa, Amex or through a pre-established purchase order. To get trained today, click here or call 703-242-4670.
Time to Complete
Q: How long does it take to complete the course?
A: The course provides flexibility for students based on their learning needs and styles. You may choose to complete a module at a time as you cover your internal procedures on that topic. A second option is to present the course in its entirety. If administered in this fashion it will take approximately 12-16 hours depending on the comprehension level of the student. Students have access to the course for up to one year, so it is not necessary to work the entire course in one sitting.
Q: Do I have to complete the course in one sitting?
A: The course can be taken at anytime, whether at work, break or home--anywhere there is a broadband connection. A student can start the course and exit the program at their convenience. Upon re-entering the course, they are automatically book marked. Access is open for one year from initiation allowing students to go back and review content at any time as a refresher, thereby increasing educational training benefit.
Testing
Q: How does management access the tests and scores and how long can they do so? Can they print them for employee files?
A: Results information for the course scores and test results are available in various ways to the student. Students can provide this information to their managers. Course scores are available from the Navigation menu via a Knowledge Checkpoints report and provide great detail on every question the student answered throughout the course. This provides information on where students may need to concentrate more effort should they perform poorly on the test. Test results are stored on the Transcript and is limited to a "pass" or "not pass" indication along with a final score for the test. At the end of the test, the student is provided a report with complete test results, but this is not available if closed by the student. To maintain this information for future reference, the student will need to copy and paste the contents of this report into a Word document for saving or printing.
Q: I forgot to print my test results, what do I do now?
A: The report at the end of the test is currently not held for review once it is closed. To view your needed areas of improvement throughout the course, bring up the Knowledge Checkpoints report from within the course.
Q: Can I go back and review questions and sections of the course before taking the final exam?
A: The entire course, including all Knowledge Checkpoints, can be taken as often as the student likes during the access period. Easy navigation means you can jump to any part of the course from a menu option. When ready, you can easily start the test. Then, if necessary you can take the final test several times as well until you achieve the desired score.
Certification
Q: How do I get the certificate?
A: Upon successful completion of the course, the system will generate a personalized Certificate of Satisfactory Completion. This will designate the student as a CSAA Certified Central Station Operator Level II. In addition, the student will receive by mail a certificate suitable for framing and a “patch” for uniforms indicating the successful completion of the Level II Course. Additional certificates and patches are available for a nominal handling charge. Please e-mail Becky Lane at membership@csaaul.org.
Q: Is my certificate transferable between Central Stations?
A: The CSAA certificate is issued to the individual and as such can be accepted by any company that utilizes training.
Q: What is considered a passing score?
A student must achieve 70% or higher to pass the course.
Q: We haven't been printing our certificates. Can we print them after later?
If a student has passed the course, they will have a reprint certificate link on the home page of the course. You will need to login as that student and launch the course. When prompted to return to the last page you were on, click CANCEL. This will take you automatically to the first page of the course where the reprint link will appear in the upper right corner.
If you have any difficulty with this process or have further questions, please contact technical support at 502-254-1506 between 8am and 8pm EST Mon-Fri.
Q: How can my company obtain the CSAA Five Diamond Central Station designation?
A: Once all of the operators within your organization have completed the CSAA Central Station Operators Level I or the CSAA Advanced Operator Online Training Course (formerly Level II), the central station can apply for the Five Star Central Station designation. Click here for more information
Q: Can you tailor the CSAA Advanced Operator Online Training Course for me?
A: No. These programs are intrinsically rooted in best practices, ANSI standards and field-tested operating procedures. Any variations are best addressed as an addendum in a hard copy before or after the CSO course. In most areas, the course clearly refers to the potential for special instruction as needed.
Q: Can I take the course and teach the course to my staff? Why not?
A: No. The benefits of these programs are:
- Cost efficiency (you can’t teach a person any more cost effectively)
- Consistency of learning (specific modular content where all elements are covered comprehensively)
- Conformance (by randomly generated multiple quizzes, as well as a comprehensive exam)
- Time savings (students can take the course at their leisure or at pre-specified time blocks. No need for make up in case of absence)
In most instances, a student would most likely not have the structured nationally-recognized education that the Central Station Operators Online Training Levels I and II provide.
With these series you get stat-of-the-art, relevant, cost effective training, that virtually has become the gold standard. In-house education can then be more effectively focused on the particular needs and specialties you may have.
Q: How do I know my staff will understand the content?
Training modules in the CSAA Online series have “show me” and “learning bytes” providing audio / visual technology. The methods provide reinforcement in the core subject matter. As a student is taking a module, they are provided with regular “gate keeper quizzes” and are required to answer correctly before proceeding. If answered incorrectly, they are automatically placed at the beginning of that module. Upon successfully completing all the modules, the student is then allowed to take a final comprehensive exam consisting of approximately 40 randomly generated questions from a comprehensive Q & A pool.
A passing grade of 70% is required. Upon successfully passing of the exam, the student is automatically provided with a completion certificate. A fully-embossed copy is sent out at a no additional charge.
Q: I took the course and tried to pass the final exam several times but failed. What is my appeal?
A: The randomly generated multiple quizzes, as well as the final comprehensive exam, are regularly scrutinized and updated. Exams may be reviewed by the CSAA certification education body for specific content and type of questioning; however, may not be overturned. You will be allowed to take the course a second time with permission at no charge.
Other CSAA Online Training Courses
Q: What other related CSAA online programs are available?
A: There are three other CSAA online course at the moment.
- The acclaimed CSAA Central Station Operator Online Training Level I Course. Click here to find out more about this course.
- The CSAA False Alarm Online Training is designed to assist in the reduction of false alarms. It is appropriate for the use of any alarm industry professional, as well as consumers and Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs). For more information, click here.
- The CSAA Alarm Industry Employee Orientation provides an introduction on the electronic security industry to employees – which is a primer version on the electronic security industry.
Q: Why doesn’t the CSAA Central Station Operator Online Course Series have field, technical or sales modules?
A: CSAA focuses within the discipline of monitoring technology, and as such has released specific courses within that core discipline.
Questions? / Comments?
Q. Who do I call when I have questions?
A: For general or operational questions about the purchase process, certification, course content, etc. please call Becky Lane at 703-242-4670, x. 18 or e-mail her at membership@csaaul.org.
For technical support, such as help with setting up the purchase order spreadsheet or if the course will not launch, you may call 502-254-1506. They are available M-F, 8 AM-8 PM Eastern Time.
Comments?
The development of the CSAA Advanced Operator Online course has taken in excess of 3,500 hours of subject matter experts, web designers, graphics artists just to name a few involved. The CSAA leadership has made it a priority to make sure we continue to offer relevant, reasonably priced and up-to-date education to all. We will release more courses as the interest level is brought forward. Let us know your comments by e-mailing Steve Doyle at director@csaaul.org.
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